In areas of crisis—in failed states, in refugee camps, in countries where the infrastructure has collapsed—the mentally ill are frequently condemned to neglect or lives of misery. Disregarded in parts of the world by government and the aid community, sometimes far from family support networks, the mentally ill can lead isolated lives, subject to ill treatment.

January 7, 2011

In areas of crisis—in failed states, in refugee camps, in countries where the infrastructure has collapsed—the mentally ill are frequently condemned to neglect or lives of misery. Disregarded in parts of the world by government and the aid community, sometimes far from family support networks, the mentally ill can lead isolated lives, subject to ill treatment.

People with a mental illness at Juba Central Prison are held in separate cells at night, but during the day mingle with the general prison population.
In areas of crisis—in failed states, in refugee camps, in countries where the infrastructure has collapsed—the mentally ill are frequently condemned to neglect or lives of misery. Disregarded in parts of the world by government and the aid community, sometimes far from family support networks, the mentally ill can lead isolated lives, subject to ill treatment.

January 8, 2011

People with a mental illness at Juba Central Prison are held in separate cells at night, but during the day mingle with the general prison population.
In areas of crisis—in failed states, in refugee camps, in countries where the infrastructure has collapsed—the mentally ill are frequently condemned to neglect or lives of misery. Disregarded in parts of the world by government and the aid community, sometimes far from family support networks, the mentally ill can lead isolated lives, subject to ill treatment.

A 14-year-old boy, who has been tied up for six years. His mother refuse to have him admitted to the local hospital, only two kilometers away.
In areas of crisis—in failed states, in refugee camps, in countries where the infrastructure has collapsed—the mentally ill are frequently condemned to neglect or lives of misery. Disregarded in parts of the world by government and the aid community, sometimes far from family support networks, the mentally ill can lead isolated lives, subject to ill treatment.

March 15, 2011

A 14-year-old boy, who has been tied up for six years. His mother refuse to have him admitted to the local hospital, only two kilometers away.
In areas of crisis—in failed states, in refugee camps, in countries where the infrastructure has collapsed—the mentally ill are frequently condemned to neglect or lives of misery. Disregarded in parts of the world by government and the aid community, sometimes far from family support networks, the mentally ill can lead isolated lives, subject to ill treatment.

Abdi Rahman Shukri Ali has lived in a locked shack in the Dadaab refugee camp in eastern Kenya for two years.
In areas of crisis—in failed states, in refugee camps, in countries where the infrastructure has collapsed—the mentally ill are frequently condemned to neglect or lives of misery. Disregarded in parts of the world by government and the aid community, sometimes far from family support networks, the mentally ill can lead isolated lives, subject to ill treatment.

June 29, 2011

Abdi Rahman Shukri Ali has lived in a locked shack in the Dadaab refugee camp in eastern Kenya for two years.
In areas of crisis—in failed states, in refugee camps, in countries where the infrastructure has collapsed—the mentally ill are frequently condemned to neglect or lives of misery. Disregarded in parts of the world by government and the aid community, sometimes far from family support networks, the mentally ill can lead isolated lives, subject to ill treatment.

Many patients treated by the Reverend Apostle S. B. Eswani stay chained for months in his compound. The preacher says he has cured hundreds of people of mental illness, using prayer and traditional medicines.

October 13, 2012

Many patients treated by the Reverend Apostle S. B. Eswani stay chained for months in his compound. The preacher says he has cured hundreds of people of mental illness, using prayer and traditional medicines.

A traditional Khoranic healer treats patients by reciting holy verses to cure mental illness.
In areas of crisis—in failed states, in refugee camps, in countries where the infrastructure has collapsed—the mentally ill are frequently condemned to neglect or lives of misery. Disregarded in parts of the world by government and the aid community, sometimes far from family support networks, the mentally ill can lead isolated lives, subject to ill treatment.

May 26, 2011

A traditional Khoranic healer treats patients by reciting holy verses to cure mental illness.
In areas of crisis—in failed states, in refugee camps, in countries where the infrastructure has collapsed—the mentally ill are frequently condemned to neglect or lives of misery. Disregarded in parts of the world by government and the aid community, sometimes far from family support networks, the mentally ill can lead isolated lives, subject to ill treatment.

Traditional healer Lekwe Deezia treats mental illness through the power of prayer and with herbal medicines, in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. While receiving treatment, which can take months, patients are chained to trees in his courtyard. They say they are fed at most once a day, are beaten, and not given shelter from the elements.
In areas of crisis—in failed states, in refugee camps, in countries where the infrastructure has collapsed—the mentally ill are frequently condemned to neglect or lives of misery. Disregarded in parts of the world by government and the aid community, sometimes far from family support networks, the mentally ill can lead isolated lives, subject to ill treatment.

October 10, 2012

Traditional healer Lekwe Deezia treats mental illness through the power of prayer and with herbal medicines, in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. While receiving treatment, which can take months, patients are chained to trees in his courtyard. They say they are fed at most once a day, are beaten, and not given shelter from the elements.
In areas of crisis—in failed states, in refugee camps, in countries where the infrastructure has collapsed—the mentally ill are frequently condemned to neglect or lives of misery. Disregarded in parts of the world by government and the aid community, sometimes far from family support networks, the mentally ill can lead isolated lives, subject to ill treatment.

Former child soldier Mamie Denis lives in Trench Town, an informal settlement in the Liberian capital Monrovia, inhabited mostly by ex-combatants of the country’s civil wars.
In areas of crisis—in failed states, in refugee camps, in countries where the infrastructure has collapsed—the mentally ill are frequently condemned to neglect or lives of misery. Disregarded in parts of the world by government and the aid community, sometimes far from family support networks, the mentally ill can lead isolated lives, subject to ill treatment.

January 31, 2013

Former child soldier Mamie Denis lives in Trench Town, an informal settlement in the Liberian capital Monrovia, inhabited mostly by ex-combatants of the country’s civil wars.
In areas of crisis—in failed states, in refugee camps, in countries where the infrastructure has collapsed—the mentally ill are frequently condemned to neglect or lives of misery. Disregarded in parts of the world by government and the aid community, sometimes far from family support networks, the mentally ill can lead isolated lives, subject to ill treatment.

A man with one leg amputated, and the other gangrenous, lies in the Port Harcourt Rehabilitation Facility in the Niger Delta. The facility houses over 170 people with mental disabilities, who were formerly living on the streets. Originally designed as a home for widows, the building became a psychiatric hospital in 1999, as homeless people were cleared from the streets in a government clean-up in anticipation of the FIFA World Youth Soccer Championships.
In areas of crisis—in failed states, in refugee camps, in countries where the infrastructure has collapsed—the mentally ill are frequently condemned to neglect or lives of misery. Disregarded in parts of the world by government and the aid community, sometimes far from family support networks, the mentally ill can lead isolated lives, subject to ill treatment.

October 16, 2012

A man with one leg amputated, and the other gangrenous, lies in the Port Harcourt Rehabilitation Facility in the Niger Delta. The facility houses over 170 people with mental disabilities, who were formerly living on the streets. Originally designed as a home for widows, the building became a psychiatric hospital in 1999, as homeless people were cleared from the streets in a government clean-up in anticipation of the FIFA World Youth Soccer Championships.
In areas of crisis—in failed states, in refugee camps, in countries where the infrastructure has collapsed—the mentally ill are frequently condemned to neglect or lives of misery. Disregarded in parts of the world by government and the aid community, sometimes far from family support networks, the mentally ill can lead isolated lives, subject to ill treatment.

The Port Harcourt Rehabilitation Facility in the Niger Delta houses over 170 people with mental disabilities who were formerly living on the streets. Originally designed as a home for widows, the building became a psychiatric hospital in 1999, as homeless people were cleared from the streets in a government clean-up in anticipation of the FIFA World Youth Soccer Championships.
In areas of crisis—in failed states, in refugee camps, in countries where the infrastructure has collapsed—the mentally ill are frequently condemned to neglect or lives of misery. Disregarded in parts of the world by government and the aid community, sometimes far from family support networks, the mentally ill can lead isolated lives, subject to ill treatment.

October 16, 2012

The Port Harcourt Rehabilitation Facility in the Niger Delta houses over 170 people with mental disabilities who were formerly living on the streets. Originally designed as a home for widows, the building became a psychiatric hospital in 1999, as homeless people were cleared from the streets in a government clean-up in anticipation of the FIFA World Youth Soccer Championships.
In areas of crisis—in failed states, in refugee camps, in countries where the infrastructure has collapsed—the mentally ill are frequently condemned to neglect or lives of misery. Disregarded in parts of the world by government and the aid community, sometimes far from family support networks, the mentally ill can lead isolated lives, subject to ill treatment.

A man drags a tied-up mentally ill relative behind him, after she had not obeyed his instructions, at the Brothers of Charity psychiatric hospital in Goma. Family members are encouraged to stay with patients, because there is a shortage of staff at the institution.
In areas of crisis—in failed states, in refugee camps, in countries where the infrastructure has collapsed—the mentally ill are frequently condemned to neglect or lives of misery. Disregarded in parts of the world by government and the aid community, sometimes far from family support networks, the mentally ill can lead isolated lives, subject to ill treatment.

June 23, 2011

A man drags a tied-up mentally ill relative behind him, after she had not obeyed his instructions, at the Brothers of Charity psychiatric hospital in Goma. Family members are encouraged to stay with patients, because there is a shortage of staff at the institution.
In areas of crisis—in failed states, in refugee camps, in countries where the infrastructure has collapsed—the mentally ill are frequently condemned to neglect or lives of misery. Disregarded in parts of the world by government and the aid community, sometimes far from family support networks, the mentally ill can lead isolated lives, subject to ill treatment.

A woman tries to escape from the Galkayo Mental Health Centre.
In areas of crisis—in failed states, in refugee camps, in countries where the infrastructure has collapsed—the mentally ill are frequently condemned to neglect or lives of misery. Disregarded in parts of the world by government and the aid community, sometimes far from family support networks, the mentally ill can lead isolated lives, subject to ill treatment.

May 21, 2011

A woman tries to escape from the Galkayo Mental Health Centre.
In areas of crisis—in failed states, in refugee camps, in countries where the infrastructure has collapsed—the mentally ill are frequently condemned to neglect or lives of misery. Disregarded in parts of the world by government and the aid community, sometimes far from family support networks, the mentally ill can lead isolated lives, subject to ill treatment.

War and Mental Health After Crisis

Contemporary Issues, second prize stories

January 7, 2011

In areas of crisis—in failed states, in refugee camps, in countries where the infrastructure has collapsed—the mentally ill are frequently condemned to neglect or lives of misery. Disregarded in parts of the world by government and the aid community, sometimes far from family support networks, the mentally ill can lead isolated lives, subject to ill treatment.

Robin Hammond

Recommended

About the photographer

Robin Hammond

Robin Hammond has dedicated his career to documenting human rights and development issues around the world through long-term photographic projects. In 2013, he was awarded the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund Grant in Humanistic Photography and he is also the receipient of four Amnesty International awards for human rights journalism.

Robin won the FotoEvidence book award for documenting social injustice which resulted in the publication of his long term project on mental health in Africa, Condemned. The same body of work was exhibited at the photojournalism festival Visa Pour l’Image in France, and in New York, Italy, and Belgium.

Winning the Carmignac Gestion Photojournalism Award allowed him to continue his long-term photo project on life in Zimbabwe under the rule of Robert Mugabe. The work culminated in an exhibition in Paris and the publication of his first book Your Wounds Will Be Named Silence. The work went on to be exhibited at Le Recontres in Arles, France and in Milan, Rome, and Cologne and was featured in National Geographic magazine.

Robin has made a wide variety of other photographic bodies from the impact of climate change on Pacific Island communities to rape used as a weapon of war in Congo and Bosnia, to the poisoning of ecosystems by multi-nationals in developing countries to the rise of Africa’s middle class.

Born in New Zealand, Robin has lived in Japan, the United Kingdom, South Africa and France.

Interviews

New Zealander Robin Hammond talks about his award-winning work, 'War and Mental Health After Crisis'.

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